Know your client
You would not pitch a ball to your 8-year-old like your 16-year-old, who’s dying to hit one out of the park. The same holds for the audience to whom you’re pitching your event idea. Ensure your pitch reflects the client’s personality, brand or product.
Consider Your Opening Line
Unless you are genuinely funny – don’t start with a joke. If it doesn’t work, you’re left hanging there with nothing, and it will throw you off the rest of the pitch. Ask a question, use a quotation or consider current affairs, but avoid any political, personal or religious comment. These things can often turn into conversations that can take up the entire pitch and cause the client to lose focus, or worse, you insult the client.
Don’t tell them who they are; they already know.
Put effort into designing your handout and find a creative title rather than the name of the company and client? They know their name. They don’t need to see it in print. Make the print large enough to read at a glance, don’t make it too copy-heavy, and ensure you’ve got some easily read bullet points. Lastly, don’t knock down a forest. I can’t tell you how often I’ve leafed through presentations with only a few words on each page. Five persons around a table reading a 25-page PowerPoint presentation that should take up five pages is annoying. It won’t be well received and looks unprofessional.
Give them a visual
We are all visual creatures, and while you may be able to visualize how the mauve lighting affects the sheer white wall coverings you are hanging behind the podium, your client will need some help. Paint them the best picture you can, and don’t be afraid to bring some props or visuals to help. They’ll appreciate it.
Be anecdotal
Throw in a couple of anecdotes on relevant events near the end. Draw lines of similarity between those events and the pitch to prospective clients. This will show off your experience and problem solving, leaving them with an impression of someone who has proven themselves on the ground when it counts.
Finish with a question.
Avoid the dreaded “Do you have any questions” in your finish. Try instead, “Is there anything else about the event you would like to know?” This way, you’ve steered them to a response – encouraging interaction rather than blank stares. Here’s to a home run!